Statement by the President on the Veterans Emergency Housing Program.

AFTER ONE YEAR of emergency action to get housing for the returning veterans the time has come for an appraisal of the accomplishments of our efforts and a reappraisal of the program itself. In December of last year I asked Mr. Wyatt to come to Washington as Housing Expediter and to present to me a daring program. Such a program was worked out and announced in February of this year. This emergency program called for putting under construction the largest number of homes and apartments in history and for (1) giving the veterans first opportunity to have these new units, (2) limiting non-residential construction to essential and non-deferrable projects, (3) increasing the production of building materials and distributing those materials to the proper places at the proper times, and (4) the development and expansion of a new industry of low cost factory built housing. Extraordinary powers were conferred on Mr.Wyatt to accomplish the tremendous task ahead. Labor, industry, and the people of this country have cooperated in doing an outstanding job under his leadership.

It has now become clear that 1,000,000 dwelling units will have been put under construction and some 700,000 completed by the end of 1946. This accomplishment is outstanding. In the starting of permanent dwelling units we have achieved in one year's time a level that it took four years to reach after World War I. In addition, we have started about 300,000 conversions and temporary dwelling units. The public has realized the problem and has cooperated in the limitation of non-housing construction in order that resources might be devoted to the production of housing for veterans. Several hundred thousand projects have been patriotically deferred. The production of building materials has been increased with remarkable speed until, currently, many materials are being produced at the highest levels in history.

The problems of starting and completing any program may be divided into at least two phases. These may be broadly defined as the first phase of seeing the problem, measuring it, and organizing to meet it. This phase is difficult and requires imagination and drive. Once the first phase is completed and the program is well under way, the problem becomes an administrative one. Balance must be maintained among the factors of production. The program must be geared into the whole economy so as to avoid distortions of such proportions that new emergencies are created.

The Veterans Emergency Housing Program has successfully passed through the first phase and is now well into the second phase. The problem has been recognized, it has been measured, and a successful organization has been set up to achieve the goals, as is evidenced by the increases in housing construction, and the increases in the production of building materials. The remainder of the program must now be faced within the framework of the government's announced policy of relaxing controls. Balance of materials and equipment must be achieved. The program must be given its proper emphasis in the overall economy and controls must be relaxed as rapidly as possible without threatening the success of the housing program.

Mr. Wyatt has served his country at great personal sacrifice, and with tremendous energy, ability, and devotion, during the past year. He has formulated and administered the type of emergency program which I asked him to undertake a year ago. He has asked me to relieve him of the responsibility of administering the housing program now that we have reached the period of the relaxing of war time emergency measures. I have reluctantly acceded to Mr. Wyatt's desires and accepted his resignation. This does not mean that any major modification in the objective of rapidly and adequately housing our veterans has occurred. From the beginning, the program has been flexible and in the current review of the program, changes have been made and others will be made as we proceed.

As Mr. Wyatt has stated from the beginning of the Veterans Emergency Housing Program, there is a great need for rental housing for veterans. In addition to the governmental steps already taken to stimulate rental housing, Congress will be urged to give financial support to multi-unit low-rent apartments so as to enable private enterprise to go ahead with construction at current high costs with some assurance of being able to earn a fair return on the capital invested at the desired low rentals. Congress will again be requested to pass the Wagner-Ellender-taft Housing Bill which contains important provisions to stimulate rental housing, the absence of which has been a serious handicap to the Veterans Emergency Housing program during 1946.

With regard to factory built housing, government loans and market guarantee contracts will be continued. Attention will continue to be given to the merits of the individual project and to the effect upon our entire economy.